


five times johnny doesn't know who is underneath the mask and one time he does

by damianwayne



Category: Marvel 616, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon Compliant, Friends to Lovers, Identity Porn, M/M, Spideytorch Week 2019, slingers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 18:30:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19910263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damianwayne/pseuds/damianwayne
Summary: There are four new heroes in town. Johnny likes the first one, finds the second creepy, hates the third one, and thinks the fourth one hot. He just doesn't know all of them are Peter.





	five times johnny doesn't know who is underneath the mask and one time he does

**Author's Note:**

> I noticed it's almost physically impossible for me to write a spidey fic without including the slingers. this is set during identity crisis when peter was going around as ricochet, prodigy, hornet, and dusk. and pretty much all the same, except  
> 1\. peter and mj aren't together here, and  
> 2\. johnny meets all of his different identities.
> 
> you should check out the comic because johnny and hornet meeting is PEAK identity porn that's how i got the idea! [Plus, I used the conversation between the two of them one to one (don't sue me marvel).](https://66.media.tumblr.com/ee0f5cf88f84bcf805cfa53be11128cd/tumblr_pv1if8YbdC1xtgk7bo1_540.png)
> 
> I just love the Slingers and I want them to get more love (read 1998 slingers for the teen superhero squad nobody knows about, they were inspired by the original aka peters slingers and became a group as well)

Five million dollars was a lot. People would kill for that, people have killed for less. Peter would lie if he didn’t admit he had thought about turning himself in for a short second. Five million! You could live your entire life peacefully after that, never having to work again. Of course, he would never do that. Both of those things, turning himself in as Spider-Man, and just live his life peacefully.

He should stay on the low and that he did. Spider-Man was off the picture with everyone in New York and outside trying to find the red and blue vigilante who was wanted for murder. And had five million on his head. (Peter still couldn’t believe he was _five million_ worth. He was sure other heroes would think it was offensive, Iron-Man would probably just pay that money off himself by what he made in a day but Peter was honestly just impressed).

But Peter was Peter. He couldn’t just stay hidden and pretend he didn’t have powers. He had a responsibility. And Mary Jane told him that it wasn’t Spider-Man that made him great, but Peter Parker. So he guessed, he didn’t have to be _Spider-Man_ , right? He could just come up with other titles. But nobody should know it was him, it was suspicious if Spider-Man disappeared right when there was a bounty on him and a new hero with very similar powers would suddenly pop up. No, he had to approach it differently.

* * *

1.

The first hero was Ricochet.

All of the designs were from Mary Jane and Peter didn’t know what he’d do without her. Ricochet was by far MJ’s favorite design out of the four new identities Peter had adapted. Peter wasn’t the biggest fan of it, kind of weird wearing fighting crime in thigh highs and a leather jacket. And the white-haired wig… Peter could get behind being blond since he had seen his clone sporting that look but white was just different. People did like it though. And Ricochet was fun to be, he wasn’t that much different from Spider-Man. Ricochet talked a lot, poked fun at villains, and his power was leaping.

The Human Torch took a liking to Ricochet after they went on a mission together once. Peter had tried to shake the blond off but he had insisted. Luckily for Peter, Johnny didn’t seem to recognize him at all. And they worked together afterward a few times as well and hung out. Not at the Statue of Liberty though, he guessed it was the special thing he had with Spider-Man.

"Do you ever think about Spider-Man?" Johnny asked him suddenly after a long night. They were sitting on top of one of the highest building in New York. Johnny had flamed off a long time ago and they were eating kebab. Peter choked on his food almost when Johnny asked him out of nowhere. He cleared his throat and Johnny patted him on his back.

"What?" Peter asked after he finally caught his breath again and managed to get his voice to not sound like he was panicking.

"He’s been gone for so long," Johnny said. "He’s my friend, you know?"

Something inside Peter warmed up. "I mean, isn’t he a murderer?" he asked.

Johnny frowned. "I like you, Ricochet, but you’re not Spider-Man. He’s my best friend. I know he’s not a murderer."

"He’s your best friend?" Peter repeated in a pitch a bit higher than his usual tone.

Johnny smiled. "Don’t tell him that. But I guess you don’t know where he is either, do you?"

Peter shook his head. "I think it’s a good thing he went into hiding. There’s a lot of money on him. I would do that too. That or just hand myself in, I could use that money." He smiled but behind his mask, though Johnny couldn’t see it anyway.

Johnny pulled one leg closer to his body and wrapped his arm around it, resting his chin on his knee. His eyes were on the night sky of the city beneath them. Peter was surprised that Johnny called him his best friend but he was happy to hear it. He had always considered The Human Torch one of his best friends as well. Johnny didn’t know who he was under that mask but he didn’t care. He had enough trust in Peter to not believe he was a murderer.

"I just miss him," Johnny said, "maybe we should find out the actual murderer and clear his name." His eyes lit up and he turned to Peter. "Will you help me?"

Peter was way too surprised by that. "Hey, I— listen, I’m sure Spider-Man’s a nice guy or something. If you’re his best friend, he can’t be that bad, right? But I don’t know him. For all I know maybe he _is_ a killer." He bit on his tongue as soon as the words came out. Johnny narrowed his eyes and leaned into Peter. He was _pissed_.

"Fuck you," he said. "Spider-Man is a hero and he’s been way longer in the game than you were."

"Okay, okay!" Peter quickly said. "Sorry. I didn’t want to bad mouth your friend."

Johnny’s expression softened. "Yeah, man, sorry too. I guess I’m just… I’m worried about him. He’s been gone for a while now, what if something has happened to him? And I do miss our meetings at the Statue of Liberty."

"You have dates?" Peter joked and he swore Johnny was blushing.

"Nothing special. Just like this," Johnny said quickly.

"I’m sure he’ll come back," Peter said. "If he’s innocent, he’ll come back and everything will be like it was before."

At least, it’s what he hoped for as well. As much as he liked his new identities, he missed being Spider-Man as well. And he missed being honest to Johnny. Even without the other male knowing his identity, he had always been able to be himself around him.

* * *

2.

The second identity was Dusk.

Dusk was dressed in all black and hid in the shadows. Dusk was the complete opposite of who Peter as Spider-Man was. Dusk only did the most necessary things, Dusk disappeared in the darkness as quickly as he came out of them, Dusk didn’t make his appearance noticed until needed.

"You’re really fucking creepy, you know that?" Johnny shouted at him when they met. Peter had just saved him from a villain The Human Torch was fighting and needless to say, Johnny didn’t seem amused by it. "I had this under control. But you just had to come out of _nowhere_!"

Peter wasn’t sure if _Dusk_ would say anything. But it was hard trying to keep up a persona when you were anything like it. "You’re welcome," he said.

Johnny scoffed and ruffled his blond hair. He looked good even though he just crashed into a building with all the dust caught in his hair and face. Dusk didn’t talk that much so Peter was observing. And he has looked a lot at Johnny before but it was a bit different when he was Dusk. With Dusk, he was a shadow, he was the darkness, he was nothing. And Johnny… Johnny was glowing even in the darkness, even when his flames weren’t on. From his hair golden hair, to the bright blue eyes, to how perfectly the light of the streetlamp hit his skin.

"Next time, warn a boy," Johnny said, the former annoyance from his voice was almost gone. Peter noticed as well now that he liked the sound of Johnny’s voice. Being Dusk for too long was messing with his head, he guessed.

"There probably won’t be a next time," Peter said.

Johnny raised his eyebrows. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Er. Nothing. My work here is done." And Peter disappeared into the night again. Being quiet wasn’t his thing, he concluded, as he noticed how fast his heart was beating against his chest. Nothing good came from it.

* * *

3.

Hornet could, as the name suggested, fly. Kind of weird how people asked him about the Avengers and if he was married to Janet van Dyne. Hornet looked nothing like Yellow Jacket! He wasn’t even _yellow,_ his suit was as MJ described "amaranth".

He thought it’d be weird at first but with more time that passed, the easier it was to be Hornet. He got used to the new suit and the new set of "powers" that came with it. And Johnny Storm.

And Hornet was working for Norman Osborn to find Spider-Man. Because Norman Osborn was easily fooled and didn’t know Peter was both of them. So he was getting paid to get himself. It was funny to him even when Mary Jane rolled her eyes at him when Peter explained it to her ("To throw down with Spider-Man… also me! Because he despises Peter Parker, who for those of you who come in late, is, once again… me! This is like the best!"). She warned him about this but Peter didn’t listen.

And now he was here with an angry Human Torch flying towards him.

"You’re him, right? The new guy? The Hornet?" Johnny snapped at him. Even through the flames, Peter could tell Johnny was angry.

"Uhm. Well, yeah, I…," Peter stuttered.

"I’m the Human Torch. Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four. I saw you on TV."

"Uh, yeah, well…" Peter wasn’t sure what to say. Johnny was angry at him and he didn’t want to fight him. He was still his friend.

"Well, lemme just tell you something, pal… Spider-Man and I are buds… we go _waaaay_ back!" Johnny flew closer towards Peter. He could feel the temperature increasing and how he was starting to sweat under his heavy suit. "A lot of people have been hunting him down for things I’m sure he had nothing to do with! I never thought twice about it, 'cause the guy could always take care of himself… but after your little comment about not having to worry about Spider-Man anymore…"

Oh. So that was it. Johnny was… he was concerned about Spider-Man. Because Peter was his best friend and Hornet was promising to hunt for him. Something in Peter warmed and it wasn’t due to Johnny’s flames.

"Look, I haven’t done anything with Spider-Man, Mr. Torch," Peter assured the other hero. Johnny huffed, more flames erupting from his body.

"Good. For you. 'Cause if anything has happened to Spidey, you’re the guy I’m gonna come looking for!" He was pointing with his index finger towards Hornet. "As a matter of fact, as of right now, you should consider yourself Spider-Man’s protector, I’m gonna hold you personally responsible! If anything happens to him, it happens to you— only hotter! Get it?"

Peter swallowed hard. "Uh… Yeah."

Johnny stared at him for a few seconds longer, he was this close to his face that Peter almost thought Johnny would recognize him. Even though Hornet had a mask on as well and Johnny didn’t know who was behind Spider-Man’s mask. But right now with Johnny’s intense gaze, he could even clearly see through the fire, Peter felt like Johnny was looking straight through him.

"Good. Have a nice day," Johnny spat out and flew away.

Peter breathed out. He wasn’t scared of Johnny. He was more… touched. Because yes, Johnny had talked about it with Ricochet but he didn’t express it as much as he had now with Hornet.

Johnny cared about him a lot. He saw Peter as his best friend. And it made Peter happy. He wanted to fly after Johnny actually and tell him he was Spider-Man. He had the sudden urge to just rip off his mask and tell him who he actually was. Because he knew now that he could trust Johnny. He had trusted him before but… he didn’t have the urge to reveal himself to The Human Torch as much as he had now.

He wanted Johnny to know more about himself, as much as Mary Jane did. Maybe more. Peter shook his head quickly at the last thought. He had no idea what was going on right now, he’d have to sort his weird feelings out later.

* * *

4.

Prodigy is the one everyone liked the most.

Prodigy was a classic hero, big, broad, heroic, with an all golden suit, and a long-ass red cape. Capes were like. Top heroism, right? Thor had one and everyone loved Thor. And everyone loved Prodigy.

It was weird, being suddenly loved by everyone in New York after having to endure years of slander towards Spider-Man. Especially from Jonah Jameson. And Jameson _loved_ Prodigy. The Daily Bugle printed out newspapers that got sold out quickly, headlining the arrival of New York’s new favorite superhero Prodigy. News outlets talked about how _this_ was how a superhero should be like. Not going to lie, as great as all of this was and finally being appreciated, Peter was a little bit pissed off how everyone loved him immediately whereas he had proved himself over and over again as Spider-Man for almost a decade and everyone immediately believed he was a murderer.

And nobody knew it wasn’t him.

Not even when he was saving Johnny from the ceiling of a building crashing into him.

"Hey," Peter said as he carried Johnny in his arms. Johnny looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Uh. Hi."

Johnny was so close to him right now, Peter noticed and he held his breath. Johnny was beautiful. He had always known he was but right now…

"Maybe you should flame on," Peter suggested.

Johnny still didn’t move from where he was, right in Peter’s arms. "Can’t," Johnny said, "got struck by something that took my family and my powers away."

"Oh." Peter pressed his lips together and Johnny was still staring at him.

"Johnny!" Sue shouted from far away. "What are you doing?!"

Johnny blushed hard and pushed Peter away gently. "Sorry, Sue—"

"Get out of here!" Reed shouted when something hit them again. Peter acted immediately, picking Johnny up and running away. He placed Johnny down when he was sure they were out of the attack’s range. "Everything okay?"

Johnny’s eyes were big. "Yeah," he said with a smile. "I’m okay. Thank you…"

"Prodigy."

"Prodigy," Johnny repeated with a smile.

"Stop flirting with this guy," someone else shouted towards Johnny.

"Shut up, Ben, I’m not flirting!"

Peter blinked. Was that Ben? And more… was Johnny _flirting_ with him?

"You should go back in there, Prodigy," Johnny said.

"Uh… right," Peter said, rubbing the back of his neck. "See you around."

* * *

5.

Johnny was sitting on top of the Statue of Liberty, same time as always. Peter was surprised he was here even though they haven’t met up in a long time with him being off the grid and juggling four different identities. But here he was, still sitting there like he always was every week.

"Spidey?" Johnny shouted when he saw Peter. He jumped up and ran towards Peter, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Woah, matchstick, easy there!" Peter said, laughing, as he hugged his friend back. He didn’t even bother to pull back and neither did Johnny. He had missed being with him as Peter. He had met him so many times over the last weeks but it wasn’t the same. Peter closed his eyes and took everything in.

Johnny pulled back and he was smiling brightly at him. "Dude, you’re back. Why didn’t you tell me?!"

"Just got off today," Peter said. "I’m cleared of all charges."

Johnny grinned widely and punched Peter’s side. "I knew you were innocent. I just knew it. I told everyone and nobody believed me."

 _I know,_ Peter thought. Because Johnny had believed in him all the time. "Thanks, man. Why are you here?"

Johnny lowered his gaze. "I’ve been waiting here every week. Not that I… don’t think too much about it. You’re not _that_ special. I’m just used to it." He shrugged and looked away, his eyes back on the city. Peter, however, looked at Johnny. It was a lie, he noticed.

He knew now. What Johnny felt for him. One good thing that came out of the whole thing was probably that Peter had noticed so many things about Johnny. With each mask he put on, he learned something else about Johnny. How he acted around other people that weren’t Peter. And he had to admit, he liked the Johnny with Spider-Man the most. It felt real and sincere and it felt like something _more_.

"Hope you didn’t cheat on me and take other people here," Peter joked.

"Nah, man. Did you follow the news? Some weird guys popped out everywhere," Johnny said.

"Yeah? Have you met them?"

Johnny hummed. "Yeah."

"Tell me about them."

Johnny shrugged. "Ricochet was cool. He was a good guy, I teamed up with him sometimes."

Peter gasped and clutched his chest. "You did cheat on me!"

Johnny rolled his eyes and nudged Peter’s side. "I could never. You’re my number one, web-head." Peter held his breath but Johnny didn’t notice the effect his words had on Peter. "Dusk was weird as hell. Creepy and came out of nowhere and disappeared again. I don’t miss him."

Peter laughed because he had to admit that he didn’t miss him either.

"And Hornet. Ugh, I hate that guy. He was so full of himself. And Prodigy…" Johnny’s voice trailed off.

"What about him?" Peter asked.

Johnny shook his head. "Doesn’t matter. You’re here now." He smiled. "I don’t need anyone else."

"Cheesy," Peter said.

"Shut up."

"No, I… thanks, man." Peter put his hand on Johnny’s shoulder. "You’re my number one too."

Johnny stared at him and Peter quickly pulled his hand away. "Wanna get some food?" he asked and Johnny’s lips curled into a wide smile.

"Yes."

* * *

+1

Peter knocked against the window of Johnny’s room in the Baxter Building. Johnny opened it a few seconds later and raised his eyebrows.

"What do I owe this visit?"

"Hey, Torch," Peter said. "Can I come in?"

"I dunno." Johnny had the audacity to sit on the window still and look down at him smug. "Convince me."

Peter rolled his eyes. " But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Johnny is the sun!"

Johnny started to laugh and it was the most beautiful laughter Peter had ever heard. His heart started beating faster at it. "You’re such a fucking nerd. Come in but never quote Romeo and Juliet to me ever again." He stepped aside and Peter crawled into Johnny’s room. It was a bit messy but he didn’t care about that right now.

He was a bit nervous because of what he wanted to do. He turned to the window and closed the curtains.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Johnny asked.

"Why do you even have curtains, I’m sure they’re not fireproof," Peter said.

"Okay, you’re being weird. Why are you here?" Johnny leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. He wasn’t wearing his Human Torch suit either, just some sweatpants and a dark red T-Shirt. It didn’t look like he was planning to go out today, his hair wasn’t perfectly styled either but he still looked so good.

Peter clapped his hands together. "So, I… Uh…" He didn’t know how to start this. He had talked to MJ about this, of course, he told her about his plans to reveal himself to Johnny. And then tell him how he felt. Mary Jane had been supportive and told him it was "about time," Peter realized he had feelings for The Human Torch. Peter had been so _sure_ but now he wasn’t. What if he was wrong?

Johnny had been fancying _Prodigy,_ and Prodigy was _nothing_ like Peter. And what if Johnny only liked Spider-Man and then he’d be disappointed when he found out behind that mask was Peter Parker? Or betrayed because they’ve met so many times out of costume and Peter never told him? And it wasn’t like Johnny was that fond of Peter Parker anyway.

"You seem nervous. Did something happen?"

"No… yeah. I…"

"Come, sit down." Johnny gestured to his bed and sat down. A few seconds passed before Peter decided to sit down as well.

"I have to tell you something."

"Oh."

"You know. Ricochet, Dusk, Hornet, and Prodigy… all four of them… They were. Well, they were me."

"What?"

Peter pressed his lips together. "How to say this… I was gone but I couldn’t just do nothing. So MJ and I came up with these new identities. And each of them was different. I didn’t expect to run into you with every single one of them," Peter explained.

Johnny held up his hand. "Wait, hold up. All of those were you? Oh my god." He was blushing and hiding his face in his hands. "I want to die."

"Wait, why do you want to die?"

"I said all those… _things._ And I thought Prodigy was hot!"

Peter chuckled nervously. "So, you thought I was hot?"

"Shut up." Johnny still hadn’t looked up. But suddenly he froze. "Wait, Who is MJ?"

"That’s the other thing. She’s my best friend. And uh, ex, but most of all my best friend," Peter said.

Johnny put his palm over where Peter’s mouth was. "Why are you telling me all this? I don’t need to know. I… you know I consider you my best friend even though I know jack shit about your personal life."

Peter took Johnny’s hand and put it down slowly. He didn’t pull back though and neither did Johnny. "I want to tell you," he said, "who I am. Because I… I like you. And I think you do too even though you also fancy Prodigy. Who is me, so if you don’t like me back, it’s ridiculous."

Johnny just stared at him with wide eyes and seconds passed in which he didn’t say anything. It was one of the worst moments in Peter’s life. "I want to kiss you," Johnny finally said, „is that okay?"

"Of course. It’s okay, way more than okay. Totally fine."

Johnny smiled nervously. "Okay. Can I…" He raised his hands towards Peter’s mask.

"Don’t be disappointed, okay?"

"I’m sure you’re not ugly," Johnny said, "and if you are, at least you got your body and your… personality, I guess."

"Wow, rude."

Johnny grinned. "No, I mean it. I like you too, Spidey." His hands moved towards Peter’s face.

Peter’s entire body tensed. "Okay. You can take off my mask."

Johnny inhaled sharply before he slowly took off the mask. Very slowly, like he was scared. Halfway through, he stopped. "One more thing."

"What is it?"

"Have we met before?"

Peter sighed. "Yeah."

"What?!"

"Just take off the mask!"

Johnny moved the mask off quickly with one swift movement. " _Peter Parker_?!" he shouted. "I was crushing on Peter Parker all the time?"

"You were crushing on me?" Peter asked.

"Why are you surprised? I just told you I like you too!"

"I know but it’s still… it’s funny," Peter explained. Johnny rubbed his temples.

"I can’t believe it. Peter Parker. We’ve known each other for _years._ "

Peter took the mask that Johnny was holding. He wasn’t exactly sure what reaction he expected from Johnny. "Are you mad or disappointed?"

"What? No. Just…" Johnny sighed and then he cupped Peter’s face with his hands and pulled him in for a kiss. Their noses bumped against each other at first and it was way too sudden that it caught Peter off guard. But after a while, it was good. When Johnny tilted his head and Peter finally registered what was going on and kissed Johnny back.

He moved closer to Johnny, placing his hands on his friend’s shoulder. He was kissing Johnny Storm. He really was kissing Johnny Storm!

Johnny broke the kiss.

"So?" Peter asked.

"I don’t know yet," Johnny replied with a smile, "I think we should try that again until I’m 100% sure."

"Shut up, you are sure. You had a crush on me," Peter said. "Hold up. For how long?"

Johnny narrowed his eyes. "Let’s just make out."

"No, I want to know."

"I don’t know. One. Two…"

"One two? Weeks? Months? _Years_?"

Johnny turned his head and looked away. "I know it’s stupid. I didn’t even know how you look like—"

Peter just turned his face back towards him. "I’m going to tease you forever about it," he said with a smile. "And sorry it took me so long to notice."

"It’s fine. Can’t believe it took you four different identities to do so. Maybe I should threaten you more often."

Peter laughed and kissed Johnny again.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if I'll do the other days for Spideytorch weeks, probably not. But happy ST 2019 week! :)


End file.
